That's a wrap: New Wal-Mart service digitally preserves hard-copy movies

In recent years, the ways that we experience movies have begun to change as our world has become increasingly digitalized. Since we are now able to stream movies on Netflix or pick up a DVD from the local Redbox, I have found that the actual purchase of physical DVDs has become a rare occurrence. Unless a movie really strikes me (or it’s the final installment of “Harry Potter”), I do not always feel inclined to buy my own hard copy when I can still watch the movie online or in other more convenient ways.

Wal-Mart recently announced a new service which combines both DVDs and Blu-rays with online streaming and has dubbed it “disc-to-digital.” This program, which began last week at more than 3,500 Wal-Mart stores, enables customers to upload purchased DVDs and Blu-rays to Wal-Mart’s online cloud-service. The cost is $2 per DVD or Blu-ray upload and $5 to upgrade a movie to high-definition.

Since the program’s launch, six major film studios ““ Warner Bros., Paramount, Fox, Sony, Universal and, most recently, DreamWorks Animation ““ have included their films as part of this service. Disney, however, has yet to become part of disc-to-digital.

The way disc-to-digital works is that Walmart stores the movies digitally (through the online subsidiary Vudu), and customers are then able to sign into their accounts to access these movies online and on mobile devices.

Other than the potential inconvenience of having to make a trip to Wal-Mart (though they seem to be popping up everywhere these days), I think disc-to-digital could be an effective use of this relatively new cloud technology. It is a little weird for me to think about my movies floating in the “cloud,” but I like that the program requires the purchase of physical movie discs rather than attempting to phase them out completely.

As a major retailer, Wal-Mart would probably have better luck staying focused on selling the physical DVD and Blu-ray discs and encouraging customers to upload these purchases using disc-to-digital. I also think that Wal-Mart should offer customers a discounted rate on DVDs and Blu-rays that are then uploaded to the cloud. Otherwise, customers might feel like they are paying extra for a movie that they already own. Seeing as the high price of DVDs and Blu-rays is a major contributing factor to the decline in the sale of these discs (and many people already know how to upload their movies online), Wal-Mart’s goal should be to avoid or minimize extra costs for customers.

However, I think this program could make movies much more easily accessible to college students. As with services like Netflix, parents and friends can provide students with their account information and allow them to access the films that they have uploaded. If you know someone who likes to invest in his or her own copies of movies (and who trusts you with his or her password), you could be in luck. And, of course, you can also start your own movie cloud.

For me, this program could potentially combine the best of both worlds. I still have to purchase DVDs as I would normally, but now I have the opportunity to take them with me wherever I go by uploading them into this system. This would eliminate having to decide which movies to bring on a trip, forgetting to bring a DVD player or Redbox being sold out of the old favorite you were hoping to rent. I don’t necessarily like the idea of paying on top of the price of buying the physical copy of the movie, but the concept of online storage and easy mobile access is enticing.

As we become better acquainted with the “cloud,” services like disc-to-digital will most likely expand to include even more film studios and options for customers.

I’m not ready to give up my discs just yet, but this could be where the future of movie sales is headed.

What do you think about the concept of discs going digital? Email Seikaly at [email protected]. “That’s A Wrap” runs every Monday.